Picked the bike up from Coastal Carolina HD Friday. They pitched the fouled SE plugs which they said was my problem. They installed factory HD plugs. I showed them the SE plug box that called out .035 gaps for the plug I installed. They did not know those plugs required a tighter gap. As I was riding off I could tell the bike was a little noiser than before. There was a ticking noise that wasn't there before. Sounds like a lifter and changes with RPM. Got a few mile from the shop and pulled over to decide what to do. The wife was following me in the car so leaving it and having them look into it more was an option. Decided to take my chance and get it back home where I can look into it. On the 40 mile ride to Holden Beach I noticed the ticking noise seemed to get quieter whenever I was above 2600 RPM and would come back on immediately on deceleration. Got to Holden Beach and after unpacking the car I checked the oil level on the bike (about 10 minutes after engine shutdown.) I first hit the button on the dipstick cap and was shocked to see only the last square illuminate and flashing
Pulled the dipstick and the oil level was half way below the add a quart mark. It was almost at the full mark when they hauled it off Thanksgiving weekend. How much oil is loss when the cam cover is removed? They obviously didn't bother checking the oil when they put it back together. Fortunately I had a quart with me and topped it off. Rode it home yesterday, a 340 mile ride, without any problems. No oil usage. Whatever occured Thanksgiving weekend has affected something in the motor. The motor definitely has a tick that wasn't there before. Idle may be just a tad lower and a little rougher. At speed it runs fine. Going to take it to the local shop and have them listen to it. Before I do that I may pull the rocker box covers off myself and see if there's anything going on up there. Wish I had access to flexible borescope to take a peak in the cylinders.
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Topic: Bike is running great but sounds different (Read 1648 times)